As a Glendora church has grown through the years, it has purchased the neighboring houses and now has plans to tear them down to expand its campus.
Cornerstone Bible Church’s request attracted both church members and neighbors who packed the Tuesday meeting of the city Planning Commission.
For many, it was the first time the two sides had come together.
“The church has been a good neighbor,” Carren Acevedo said, “That’s why it’s so disappointing they didn’t involve us in the process.”
Cornerstone Bible Church is proposing to build a 9,287-square-foot sanctuary with a subterranean level consisting of classrooms, a children’s nursery and office space. The project also includes the construction of a new surface parking lot with 53 parking spaces. The current sanctuary building would remain but convert to other church uses.
The plans include demolishing:
- 117 E. Whitcomb Ave., built in 1948 and currently used as ministry meeting space;
- 125 E. Whitcomb Ave., built in 1958 and currently used for adult classes;
- 131 E. Whitcomb Ave., built in 1912 and currently used as storage;
- 415 N. Vista Bonita Ave., built in 1918 and currently used for adult ministry.
A report to the commission noted that none is considered to be particularly historic or in a historic protection zone. The current sanctuary, a picturesque stone building constructed in 1931, would remain, although it would no longer be used as a sanctuary.
The church simply needed more space, Executive Pastor Bob Stebbing said. The new plans would create a safer space for children, encourage churchgoers to park onsite and integrate the Craftsman-style of the nearby homes into its design.
But several neighbors said they don’t want to live next to a parking lot. And yes, someone invoked Joni Mitchell.
“I plan to live here the rest of my life, enjoying my porch and the unfettered view of our lovely foothills,” said Leslie Hefler, adding a parking lot was never part of the plans. “We do not want our new neighbor to be asphalt.”
She and others cast aspersions on the church for buying the four homes in the late 1990s and early aughts and then allowing them to fall in disrepair. “The neglect was intentional,” she said.
“Why buy houses and let them run down if you’re not going to tear them down in the first place,” resident Ronald Davidson asked rhetorically. “That’s not what good neighbors do.”
But resident Don Cox said the homes had been an “eyesore” for years. He supported the proposal.
“I’m happy to have them (the church) in the community rather than be pushed out,” Cox said. “You can’t stop progress.”
Only three members of the five-member Planning Commission attended Tuesday’s meeting, and they were reluctant to approve the project, which would require a zone change that ultimately would need the City Council’s blessing as well as exceptions to city codes governing buffer space in the parking lot.
It was clear, Commissioner Terry Kent said, more communication was needed among the interested parties. Both he and Commissioner Kurt Norwood acknowledged, however, that the proposal may not materially change.
Still, it was worth the effort and the commission decided to postpone a decision until June 5 and asked Cornerstone leaders to reach out to their neighbors. Commissioner Eric Duyshart also asked the church to consider shrinking the parking lot to allow that the oldest home to remain.
“With a little bit of love, it might add character to the street,” he said.
